COVERUPS! Number 12 Gary Mack, Editor & Publisher October, 1983 "LIE DETECTOR" FOOLS JAMES EARL RAY by Gary Mack Lie Detector, a syndicated daily tv show hosted by attorney F. Lee Bailey, traveled to Tennessee State Prison to interview and administer a polygraph test to James Earl Ray. As you are about to see, Ray continues to be his own worst enemy. The following transcript was made from a video tape of the first repeat of the program broadcast May 2, 1983. I have deleted most of the irrelevant and repetitious statements, many of which came from Bailey: p FLB...You say you've never admitted the crime to anybody. telling me is you have never told anybody that you did it, is JER...Yes...I didn't enter the guilty plea to escape the death that correct? penalty, that was a contention of my attorney Percy JER That's correct...I've always contended I didn't do it and Foreman. Actually the judge said that no one never been ex- tried to present evidence...to support my contentions. ecuted he sentenced to death, so that really wasn't an issue. FLBAII right, but there are two different questions, one is did I believe the three people that said that I confessed to them you commit the murder and the other is did you tell so- in private were the attorney I had, Percy Foreman, who meone that you committed the murder and they are not entered the guilty plea; [deleted], he was a member of necessarily consistent. You could have told all kinds of peo- Scotland Yard police force; and George MacMillan [husband ple, even though you didn't do it, covering for of Priscilla Johnson MacMillan]...a writer who authored a someone...You understand that "Did you tell anyone" is a book about the (MLK) homicide. sweeping question...it would go back 15 years...and (telling FLB...But he did not say that he talked to you personally; I anyone would) get a deceptive result. think he claimed that he talked to your brother Jerry. JER Yes, I understand [he answered yes many times during JER...Yes, MacMillan claimed that I intended to shoot FLB's statement]. (MLK)...and this was published in the January 26, 1976 issue FLB You're no stranger to the polygraph, you've read about of Time magazine. it, studied it, and despite the adverse results before, still will- FLB...Where do you think MacMillan got this information? ing to give it a try to see whether or not it can be helpful on He claims he's quoting your brothers directly who, in turn, this specific question. are quoting you. JER Yes. JER...I don't know where he got the information, I suppose FLB...The question is "Do you get any benefit of any kind as he [deleted]. He claims I told my brothers this on April 24, a result of the death of (MLK)." Now what's your answer to 1967 in a hotel room in Chicago, but actually an April 24th I that? was walking down a railroad track in Missouri; in fact I spent JER No. about seven days on a railroad track and didn't arrive in FLB Never a dime, never a piece of property, never any Chicago till May the first. tangible benefit. FLB...To catch our viewers up a little further, you took a JER Nothing. polygraph test some years ago from a gentleman named FLB...First of all, to be that kind of benefit you would have to [deleted] from the John Reed Institute in Chicago, certainly a know that it was due you before the shooting occurred, high'y regarded institute. You were then tested on a later oc- whether you were involved in the shooting or not... casion by Chris Gugas [phonetic], who once had been the JER...You'd have to have some type of agreement, yes. president of the American Polygraph Association. You've in- FLB...The other possibility is that after the deed was done dicated to me that on both of those days you weren't feeling somebody...said "That was a fine thing to do...here's well and indeed there's some corroboration in Mr. Gugas' $5000." That would not be prearranged money. And the report in his book that your pulse and blood pressure were third possibility is that you could have been in trouble with running quite high...how are you feeling today? the law and needing to get out of the United States in a hurry JER I feel good today; at that time I was in segregation. I was and gotten some financial assistance from somebody you feeling sort of, uh, uh, usually your blood pressure goes up knew. Once alleged...that your brothers gave you some when you're in segregation a long time, and my blood money to help you run. It's very important in the polygraph pressure was up [edit]. test not to confuse those three possibilities and I think what FLB There are only two things we can see in a polygraph test, you really want to be tested on is whether prior to the one is complete truth and the other is deception, and decep- assassination of Dr. King you knew you were going to get tion can mean anything—could mean you shot him right in money and whether you did, in fact, get money for the act; the head, it could mean that you knew who did it, could not expenses, not to help you on the lam, but that you got mean you were nearby, could mean you knew it was gonna paid for the actual shooting, or arranging the shooting as the happen...Now, we're not really here today to test that cen- case may be. tral issue. What has aggravated you is that a bunch of people JER...Our contention is that an individual named [deleted] are running around saying "He admitted it to me, he told me financed the homocide. He's a former Argentine national, he did it," which I suppose is not very helpful in your efforts uh, voluntary [?] in Argentina. Now, of course, I contend I to get a new trial every time this comes out. What you're knew nothing about the shooting in. advance... 2 FLB...Our field examiner today is Avery L. Puckett [ALP] of JER OK, well I'll come out on both the examination [sic]. Nashville. Mr. Puckett is licensed in the states of Tennessee, Now in respect to the, it was inconclusive on the question of Kentucky and Alabama and is a full-fledged member of whether I ever received any money for allegedly [FLB inter- the American Polygraph Association. rupts]. FLB Now the ironic thing was, if you hadn't started fooling ALP...Regarding whether or not you have confessed to the with the polygraph [JER interrupts]. shooting of Dr. King, do you intend to answer each of my JER No, I wasn't fooling with it. questions truthfully? FLB See, maybe you're doing that subconsciously. The first JER Yes. chart had you pointed in the right direction. ALP Have you ever confessed to shooting Dr. Martin Luther JER I made a conscious effort not to even move my fingers King, Jr.? cause I know that shows up on the graph and the examiner JER No. will say you're trying to be deceptive. ALP Other than courtroom proceedings, have you told FLB Uh-huh. anyone at all that you shot Dr. King? JER Now with respect to receiving money, I've never, if I JER No. ever received any money for not [sic] shooting (MLK) it must ALP Have you ever admitted to anyone that you shot Dr. have been indirectly, cause I've never received a nickel... King in Memphis? FLB Well no one is saying that, you did not fail that test. JER No. JER Well I think it was inconclusive. FLB InconElusive means we won't call it one way or FLB...We have concluded our polygraph examination of another—we won't say the answer is deceptive, we won't James Earl Ray and you will recall that we had two questions say it's truthful. It is no evidence at all that you got any to address—the first, whether or not he was paid anything in money. connection with the assassination of (MLK), we have tested JER Now with respect to the confessions, a lot of times so- independently and have reached an inconclusive result. We meone will ask me something and I won't deny it or admit it. cannot say that James Earl Ray is deceptive in denying the FLB All this indicates is that when ') ou say "I never admitted receipt of any payment. to anybody that I did this shooting," uh, you're not very He has also made the statement that at no time did he ad- comfortable with that blanket statement. Now, let me give mit to anyone, even any of his several lawyers, that he had, you this suggestion because we're fair game like anyone else, in fact, committed the assassination himself...James, as you and if you want to take a polygraph test in a certain way, it's can see, these responses are all to the relevant questions. a free country and you have a right to. But whoever gave They have you disturbed. Now this doesn't surprise me one you the garbage about how to deceive the examiner, whit; it may surprise you.